New Delhi: India defeated Bangladesh by 7 wickets on Thursday, in the 17th match of the ICC World Cup 2023, and maintained their undefeated run at the tournament with 4 wins out of 4 matches.
India has so far won all their matches while chasing and two out of those 4 matches Virat Kohli led the run chase for the men in blue.
On Thursday, Kohli not only led India to their fourth consecutive win but also completed his 48th One Day International century in doing so, with a little help from KL Rahul and the on-field umpire Richard Katlleborough.
Umpire Richard Kettleborough has to be the biggest fan of Virat Kohli! Nobody wanted a King Kohli century more than him! 🔥😂pic.twitter.com/eR35L0ViDf
— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) October 20, 2023
Almost missed his century
Virat Kohli came on to bat in the 13th over after the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma got out just 2 runs short of his 54th ODI half-century.
Kohli received two free hits inside his first 5 balls, and the Indian veteran took full advantage of the situation and hit a four and a six of those two free hits.
Kohli continued his form and reached close enough to complete his yet another century, in the 42nd over of the chase, India only needed two to win while Virat needed 3 runs to complete his century, Bangladeshi spinner Nasum Ahmed who was playing in the team in place of injured Shakib Al Hasan bowled a ball down the leg side for a wide, which seemed like an attempt to deny Kohli his century, however, the umpire Richard Katlleborough did not give the wide and asked the players to keep the game on.
The fun moment of the day.
Richard Kettleborough had a cheeky smile when Nasum bowled in leg side while Kohli was on 97*. pic.twitter.com/y46kC5hNsU
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 19, 2023
Everyone in the crowd and dugout was amused by this strange decision by the umpire, and the man in the centre Virat Kohli did not disappoint the umpire or his fans as he hit the third ball of the over the mid-on region for a huge 6, completing India’s run chase and his century.
Virat scored 103 runs not out off 97 balls and was adjudged the ‘Man of the match.’
He was confused
At one point, India required 19 runs to win while Virat also needed 19 runs for his century, then his partner on the non-striker end KL Rahul, asked Kohli to go for shots and get his hundred while he will only block the balls from that point on.
Virat Kohli 103(97) vs Bangladesh 2023 ball by ball highlights pic.twitter.com/qugJPQ9x5I
— Abhinav (@KohliProp) October 20, 2023
KL Rahul, in the post-match conference, admitted that Virat was hesitant about this game plan as he believed that this would come out as a selfish act for others. Rahul said, “He was confused, actually. He said, ‘It will not look too nice, not to take this single. It’s still a World Cup. It’s still a big stage. I don’t want to look like I am trying to get to the milestone’. I said ‘It’s still not won, but I think we will win this quite easily. So, if you can get to the milestone, why not? You must.”
Notably, Rahul also missed his century in the first match as he accidentally hit a six when five runs were left to win, leaving him stranded on 96 not out. He didn’t want Virat to suffer the same fate and decided to let the Indian veteran have his moment.